Willie Green Wants To Stay With Magic
Veteran guard Willie Green has carved out a nice role for himself with the Magic and he’d like to keep that going beyond this season, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Green is slated to hit unrestricted free agency in July, but if he has it his way, it sounds like he’ll be staying put in Orlando.
“Like I’ve said before, this is a great possibility for me to come back here,” Green said. “Obviously, I would have to talk it over with my representatives and [GM] Rob [Hennigan] and [assistant GM] Scott Perry. But I like what I see. I like where it’s going here in this organization, and I still feel like I have something to offer to the game.”
Green has appeared in 46 of the Magic’s 75 games this season, averaging 5.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18 minutes per game. The guard, who will celebrate his 34th birthday in July, is also shooting 35.1% from downtown and giving the Magic reliable defense off the bench.
After appearing in 46 of Orlando’s 75 games this season, Green has not tired of the daily NBA grind and says that he “definitely” wants to keep playing. In fact, the combo guard feels like he might have another “three or four years..or even more” in the tank.
The Clippers waived Green over the summer and hoped to re-sign him but their plan was thwarted when the Magic claimed him off waivers just a day later. Green wound up being mentioned as a buyout candidate in February, but that never materialized and he has since found a niche with the Magic.
Alabama To Hire Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson has made a verbal agreement to coach at the University of Alabama, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Johnson, a longtime NBA coach, was said to be among the possible candidates for the Nuggets’ head coaching job not long ago and could have been a leading candidate for other vacancies this summer.
Johnson has been out of the NBA since the Nets replaced him with assistant P.J. Carlesimo in the middle of the season. Of course, even though things didn’t work out as planned in New Jersey/Brooklyn, Johnson boasts an impressive resume which includes a Coach of the Year award in 2005/06 while with the Mavericks. That year, he led Dallas to a Western Conference Championship before succumbing to the Heat in 2006.
Johnson, who turned 50 last month, has never coached before at the college level. Across parts of seven seasons as an NBA head coach, Johnson led his teams to a combined 254-186 record. While he never guided the Nets to the postseason, his Mavs teams went to the playoffs in each of his four seasons there. Of course, in their quest for a title, simply making the playoffs was not enough.
Hoops Links: Celtics, Hezonja, Love
On this date in 1996, the Jazz beat the (Vancouver) Grizzlies, 105-91, increasing the Grizzlies’ record losing streak to 20 games. Vancouver would extend its losing streak to an NBA record 23 games. The 23-game mark would later be tied by the Nuggets during the 1997/98 season and eclipsed by the 2010/11 Cavs and last season’s Sixers, who each lost 26 straight games.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- Posterized Basketball looked at the surprising Celtics.
- Road To The Association previewed Mario Hezonja.
- Legion Report looked at Kevin Love‘s upcoming free agency decision.
- House Of Houston is glad that Dwight Howard won’t make James Harden change his game.
- Green Street says the C’s can make some real noise in the playoffs.
- Slam Dunk Zone looked at lottery teams with bright futures.
- Hoops In The Holland House checked the panic meter.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Whiteside, Jefferson
Better late than never. Over the weekend, Shaquille O’Neal expressed regret about the way he left the Magic nearly two decades ago. “We won games and then I made a business decision,” O’Neal said, according to Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press. “It’s never personal. The [team owner Rich] DeVos family knows that. And I accomplished [a championship] somewhere else. It’s not like I didn’t think they weren’t going to be upset or anything. But it’s business. It was all business. Do I regret it? I never fully answer it. I regret it sometimes. Is this where I started and should have stayed? I actually wish they made it a law that whoever drafts you, you gotta stay there your whole career.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division..
- The Heat are concerned that Hassan Whiteside could miss significant time thanks to a hand injury, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald writes. The big man split his right hand between his forefinger and ring finger during the Heat’s game against the Bucks on Tuesday and his injury required 10 stitches. There is no timetable for Whiteside’s return, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team’s center likely would be back for the playoffs.
- Signing Al Jefferson in the summer of 2013 has been a big reason for the Hornets‘ turn toward credibility, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. In fact, helping them shed their old losing image is part of what motivated him to join Charlotte in the first place. “That’s most definitely the reason why I came here,” Jefferson said. “I saw the young talent that this team had with Kemba Walker and [Michael Kidd-Gilchrist] and Bismack Biyombo, but the main reason I came here was the coach. When Steve Clifford got the job, just sitting down talking to him on my visit, I knew that he was coming here to turn things around. I just wanted to be a part of that.“
- The Heat‘s Henry Walker (who formerly went by the name Bill Walker), after years of battling adversity, has earned the confidence of coach Erik Spoelstra, who has started him seven times and given him regular minutes at both forward positions, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes in a profile of the player. Miami signed Walker to two 10-day contracts, and then eventually to a longer deal which was a two-year, minimum salary arrangement, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). He is averaging 7.9 points and 3.6 assists per game.
Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Knicks Sign Ricky Ledo To Second 10-Day
The Knicks announced that they have signed Ricky Ledo to another 10-day pact, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Ledo signed his first 10-day with New York on March 19th.
Ledo was waived by the Mavs around the trade deadline to make room for Amar’e Stoudemire. He only appeared in five games with Dallas this season, spending the lion’s share of his time with the Texas Legends, the club’s D-League affiliate. The 22-year-old guard has seen 18.6 minutes per game with the Knicks across his five contests in New York, averaging 7.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG.
As Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) pointed out when Ledo was signed to his first 10-day pact, the guard’s presence decreases the likelihood of Thanasis Antetokounmpo being added to the Knicks’ roster in 2014/15. The athletic prospect has been playing for the team’s D-League affiliate in Westchester and has yet to be called up to the main roster, even though the Knicks are clearly playing with the future in mind.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Crowder, Lopez
The Knicks made the kind of history on Saturday that Phil Jackson probably wants no part of, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. The Knicks dropped their 60th game of the season against the Bulls on Saturday night, the highest loss total in the team’s 69-year history. The “good” news, meanwhile, is that the Knicks own the worst record in the NBA with a few games separating them and the T’Wolves for the league’s worst record. Finishing dead last will guarantee the Knicks to pick no lower than No. 4 in June with a 25% chance at the No. 1 choice, which is a silver lining in this frustrating season. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division..
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe expects the Celtics to extend an offer sheet to Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard this summer. Boston coach Brad Stevens has praised the pending restricted free agent’s defensive prowess in the past. Of course, there will be plenty of other teams in the mix for Leonard.
- Jae Crowder is becoming an indispensable member of the Celtics, opines A. Sherrod Blakely of CSSNE.com. Crowder, who was acquired as part of the Rajon Rondo trade, will become a restricted free agent after the season.
- Brook Lopez has stepped his game up recently and Tim Bontemps of the New York Post believes the center has been key to keeping the Nets in the playoff race. Lopez holds a player option worth slightly over $16.7MM for the 2015/16 season. If he continues to play at his currently level, it’s conceivable that he could decline that option in pursuit of a larger deal. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division..
- The Celtics are in the playoff chase and that’s thanks in no small part to the progression of second-year head coach Brad Stevens, as Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com writes.
- Stevens has full confidence in Celtics offseason pickup Evan Turner, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Robinson, Clippers, Warriors
On February 6th against the Jazz, Marcus Morris became the first Suns player to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds off the bench since Danny Manning did so in 1997. In many ways, it was a confirmation of what he and his teammates already knew: Morris was not a fluke in his previous games as a reserve, Ben York of NBA.com writes. Currently, Morris is averaging career-highs in points (10.4 PPG), field goal percentage (44.3%), rebounds (4.5 RPG), and assists (1.6 APG). Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- Nate Robinson‘s second 10-day deal expired on Thursday and he will not be re-signed by the Clippers just yet due to his sore left knee, a league spokesman told Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. The spokesman said the Clippers will see how Robinson’s knee is recovering before making a decision on whether to bring him back for the rest of the season. The guard averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.2 APG across nine games for the Clippers but had to sit out of Wednesday night’s contest against the Knicks due to the injury.
- Earlier this week, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said “there’s a chance” that Jamal Crawford will not return this season, but the guard doesn’t agree, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes. When asked whether he was concerned his calf injury might end his season, Crawford said, “No, I’m not worried. I believe I’ll be fine.” The veteran has averaged 16.4 PPG this season.
- Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com conducted a very interesting Q&A with Warriors GM Bob Myers. The chat touched on his relationship with coach (and former GM) Steve Kerr and the team’s previous pursuit of DeAndre Jordan.
Pacific Notes: Jordan, Price, Suns
Most people who saw Shaun Livingston‘s brutal left knee injury from eight years ago thought his playing days were over. Now, as Marcus Thompson II of Bay Area News Group writes, the Warriors guard is in his tenth season, making his highest salary, and playing his most important role. Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- In the latest edition of their A to Z podcast (audio link), Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan told Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports that the incumbent team won’t necessarily have a head start on the rest of the field in free agency. “I mean I’ve obviously been here seven years, and the past two have been great,” he said. “[Coach Doc Rivers] has been my biggest supporter and the best coach I’ve ever had. The team is great. The guys are great. We have great camaraderie. But the free agency process is definitely going to be a fun one. I want to experience it and see what it’s like because before I was restricted so I just kind of had to wait it out. I definitely want to experience it, but I’m happy being a Clipper and I’ve been here for seven years, so this is definitely what I’m used to.”
- Ronnie Price wants to return with the Lakers next season and it sounds like the feeling is mutual, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Coach Byron Scott said that he’s “definitely a guy [the Lakers] will consider” and that the guard has proven himself to be the “type of guy you want on a team.” The nine-year veteran has averaged just 5.1 PPG off of 34.5% shooting with 3.8 APG, but he’s become a favorite of Scott’s thanks to his toughness and locker room leadership.
- Suns owner Robert Sarver made it clear to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (via Twitter links) that he is strongly in favor of playoff reform. “I am in favor of what’s best for the fans and players who do the competing. I am looking forward to seeing the analysis of the pros and cons of a change from the league office,” Sarver wrote to Amick via email.
Latest On Clippers, Jordan Hamilton
TUESDAY, 12:44pm: Hamilton’s ankle is better than expected, a source told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
7:49pm: Bolch further clarifies his previous update, explaining that the Clippers may in fact re-sign Hamilton if his ankle injury doesn’t prove to be too severe. Los Angeles will be keeping a close eye on him and will explore other options if his recovery is expected to take too long (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 7:34pm: The Clippers are reversing course on their plan to re-sign Hamilton for the remainder of the season, reports Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). It’s possible that the decision is result of the team’s apparent interest in Eric Griffin.
SUNDAY, 6:14pm: Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters that he plans on keeping guard Jordan Hamilton for the remainder of the season, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) . Hamilton’s second (and final allowable) 10-day contract is set to expire at night’s end.
Hamilton was forced to leave Sunday’s game against the Rockets with a sprained right ankle, but Rivers said that injury won’t affect the team’s decision to retain him the rest of the way. Hamilton, 24, has averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 9.3 minutes per contest for the Clippers during his late season run.
The former No. 26 overall pick, who’s spent most of his NBA career with the Nuggets, has bounced around quite a bit this season. After some quick stints with the Jazz and Raptors, he initially landed with the affiliate of the Grizzlies after signing with the D-League, but that club traded him to the Kings affiliate in December. His numbers were more impressive since the swap that sent him to the up-tempo Reno Bighorns, as he averaged 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To Second 10-Day Pact
MONDAY, 11:27am: The deal is official, the team announced.
SUNDAY, 2:52pm: The Jazz are set to sign Jack Cooley to another 10-day deal, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The rebounding specialist first joined Utah on February 24th and returned back to the D-League after that pact expired.
The 23-year-old (24 in early April) played a whopping two minutes during his time in Utah with his lone appearance coming on February 27th against the Nuggets. Cooley spent the bulk of the season playing Utah’s D-League affiliate and he attracted the attention of the varsity squad with his performance there.
The 6’9″ forward has averaged 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game in his first season of D-League action after having played in Turkey last season. He’s been especially impressive in his latest stint with Idaho, including a 29 rebound performance against the Los Angeles D-Fenders last week. Cooley went undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2013, but he’s remained on NBA radars, having participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues the past two years.